Former Elgin bank chairman remembered for life of service

A former bank chairman and nonprofit board member from the Fox Valley is being remembered for a life of service.

Wilber G. Smith died July 23 in Arizona, where he moved in 1991 with his wife of nearly 70 years, Eva Mae Radtke, said his nephew, John Radtke of Elgin. Smith was 91.

He retired as chairman and CEO of The First National Bank of Elgin, and also served in those roles at FNW Bancorp, a bank holding company headquartered in Elgin.

Smith served as trustee of Judson College, now Judson University, for more than 30 years; as campaign chair and board president for the United Way of Elgin, which gave him a humanitarian award; and on the boards of St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra. He also was a longtime member of a local Kiwanis Noon Club.

"He really was a servant," said Radtke, high school sports editor for the Daily Herald. "He loved to serve, he loved to give back. He was very active in the community."

Smith and his wife lived in Elgin for a time before moving to a small horse farm in Wayne that became a preferred spot for family gatherings in the 1960s and '70s, his nephew said. They later moved to a home outside St. Charles.

"He was very good with kids. We would go there for Christmas and summer vacations, and he would take us down to see the horses and the ponies," Radtke said.

A founding member of Grace Evangelical Church in Elgin, Smith also was a "tremendous" organist and choir director, his nephew said.

Visitation is at 10 a.m. and funeral services at 11 a.m. Thursday at Laird Funeral Home, 310 S. State St., Elgin. Burial will follow at Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be sent to United Way of Elgin, Judson University or Grace Evangelical Church in Elgin.